Lola and the Boy Next Door (Anna and the French Kiss, #2) in The Wide Web of Friends in YA Books

Mar 20, 2017 Rachel (aka Ms4Tune) rated it really liked it

Shelves: young-adult, romance, series-read, contemporary, a-paperback, bought, 2013

My review can also be found on our blog Paein and Ms4Tune

As I’ve come to expect, Lola and the Boy Next Door is another of Stephanie Perkin’s books that leaves me all warm and fuzzy inside. There’s something sweet and natural and beautiful about her characters and I can’t help but love them!

Lola is a teenager who loves to design and create costumes that she wears every day. To those on the outside she seems out going, different, a unique and glitzy individual but inside, Lola is just like every description

My review can also be found on our blog Paein and Ms4Tune

As I’ve come to expect, Lola and the Boy Next Door is another of Stephanie Perkin’s books that leaves me all warm and fuzzy inside. There’s something sweet and natural and beautiful about her characters and I can’t help but love them!

Lola is a teenager who loves to design and create costumes that she wears every day. To those on the outside she seems out going, different, a unique and glitzy individual but inside, Lola is just like every other teenage girl. She’s insecure, she’s emotional, she’s unsure of what she wants… and that makes her the perfect character to read about. Lola has dreaded the return of her neighbours, the Bell family. Calliope Bell has always been mean to Lola, shutting her out of her glamorous figure skater life no matter what Lola did to be friends with her, and then there’s Cricket Bell… the boy who broke Lola’s heart and then left without a word. Now they are back and Lola would do anything to avoid them, but somehow she just can’t seem to stay away from the oh so sweet and nerdy Cricket Bell.

This book tackles that period in a teens life when they are unsure of who they are and what they want. I loved watching Lola try and figure this out and how her family were so supportive of her. The family dynamic, for me, was perfect.

The romance, as you can expect, wasn’t that straight forward. Lola has a boyfriend already, when Cricket storms back into her life, Max. Max was perfectly fine in most circumstances and yet, things between them weren’t quite right. Sometimes its hard to admit to yourself that something doesn’t work, especially when there isn’t a really obvious reason why its not working. Yes I think Lola could have handled the situation a little better but I feel Stephanie Perkins wrote it well. Sometimes there is just someone better and more suited waiting right there for you but it takes courage to take that jump.

I really loved the quirkiness of the characters and at times I actually preferred Lola and Cricket to Anna and Etienne! I know shocking right! Speaking of Anna and Etienne, I was so happy they had a little cameo in this book. I’ve missed them loads. It’s lovely to see that their relationship is still as strong as ever and they are even more in love :)

I can’t wait to read Isla and the Happily Ever After as I’m suffering from withdrawals of the cuteness already! I’m hoping for more cameo appearances and even quirkier characters! All in all the perfect teen romance to bring in the start of Spring! ...more

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Oct 27, 2013 Felicitia rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: reviewed

Lola and the Boy Next Door was a really enjoyable read.

Lola Nolan had an almost perfect life. She had a great parents, great costumes to wear everyday, and even a great hot-bad-boy boyfriend (who is unfortunately five years older than her). But all of that almost perfect life picture vanished as the Bell twins came back, moving permanently back on the neighbor hood. Being face-to-face again with the Bell twins, Lola knew all of those painful past would come back, but she would not let the past e Lola and the Boy Next Door was a really enjoyable read.

Lola Nolan had an almost perfect life. She had a great parents, great costumes to wear everyday, and even a great hot-bad-boy boyfriend (who is unfortunately five years older than her). But all of that almost perfect life picture vanished as the Bell twins came back, moving permanently back on the neighbor hood. Being face-to-face again with the Bell twins, Lola knew all of those painful past would come back, but she would not let the past eat her. Lola felt nothing for Cricket Bell now, her first love, but how could she resist a really cute inventor who will not give up before he mend their past and get her back?

I'm not usually into chick-lit, but I admit this one is pretty dang good. I really admired Lola, she wears this crazy costumes everyday and she's proud of it. Some would say that she was hiding behind her costumes (even this certain character said so) but that is who she is and she's not scared to be herself. And Cricket, he's this amazing, innocent, intelligent boy with a really interesting name. I liked him even from the start! Cricket was gifted and I would be really honored to be his ~~girlfriend~~ friend. The other characters was also cool, I definitely liked Lola's gay parents, they are strict but even from reading a few words you could tell how they cared about Lola. I liked Max at first and I am hoping that he cheated somehow so the breakup would be his fault, because if he was constantly the good guy that I would be sad when Lola left him for Cricket (Lola was meant for Cricket ok, end of conversation) but then he ends up to be a knee-jerk so... don't really like him now.

The whole book was written in first person, Lola's point of view and it was great! I just love first persons. Everything was explained well and I really love how everything turns out. The ending! It was totally sweet (no, I won't spoil anything) but I was kinda expecting other people's reaction toward Lola's last masterpiece though, I really want to know how it turns out but oh well, Lola and Cricket happy I'm happy. Happy Happy! You peoples who love cute romances and chick lit should definitely read this.

Oh and, I actually read this first before the first book and I definitely will read the first and the third asap. You should too!

...more

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Jul 30, 2013 Felicia rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

*Aug 2014*

This is either the 3rd or 4th reread and they just get better every single time. At first I wasn't too sure on Lola as a character but this time I finally seemed to get how amazing she is. Also Cricket <3. Nuff said. ...more

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